The cruelty of this era — Ying Zheng had long understood it. This epoch was but a continuation of the last; the unfinished war would be brought to a final conclusion in this one. The brutality of that war would test every power, every race. Whether they could survive would depend entirely on the scope of their foresight and planning.
And Great Qin was not weaker than any.
As the First Emperor, Ying Zheng naturally had his own preparations. Yet he concealed them more deeply than others, never revealing his hand. Was Great Qin truly only as strong as it appeared on the surface? To think so would be a fatal mistake.
Great Qin had long been ready for war.
"This era belongs to Great Yi… but why not also to Great Qin?"
With calm eyes, Ying Zheng withdrew his gaze, muttering to himself.
Great Shang.
In Chaoge City, within the palace, Emperor Xin drank wine and watched dancers. From time to time, he lifted his eyes toward the void, a strange gleam flickering in his gaze. Suddenly, he laughed aloud:
"The end of this epoch draws near. Eternal Night and the Eternal — which shall outlast the other? The unfinished war of the previous era continues into this one. In the end, who shall claim the so-called Eternal Era? This age is… amusing indeed. But my Great Shang must also take its place in it."
"Heaven sent the Dark Bird, and from it Shang was born. In this epoch, how could we not join the fray?"
Emperor Xin smiled proudly.
The foundations of Great Shang were far deeper than they seemed. Not only Shang, but Qin, Xia — all had hidden depths far beyond what was shown. With the worsening of the situation, none could sit idly any longer.
Every faction had trump cards. Why reveal them early? Only when the moment of need arrived would they be brought forth, to devastating effect.
And now, among the myriad races of the heavens, all were quietly preparing.
The storm was coming.
Those who had survived to this day were not simple. All understood what the complete merging of the Two Realms battlefield meant: it signaled the beginning of all-out war. Eternal Night would not allow much time. Especially after Yi Tianxing, with merely a clone, had fought a half-step Overlord to a standstill — Eternal Night could never let the fortune dynasties grow unchecked.
The Dao of the Fortune Dynasty in this era… was too terrifying.
The power of fate could replace time, achieving in mere years what otherwise required millennia. The stronger the dynasty, the greater its ability to produce peak experts — supported by the power of billions upon billions of citizens. If not stopped, their growth would snowball endlessly, becoming an unbearable threat.
This epoch was already nearing its end.
A few hundred years, and it would close — perhaps the shortest era in all the heavens.
The Eternal Era? Or the shortest-lived of all epochs?
After the great battle, the battlefield seemed to return to calm. A new tide of Eternal Night demon soldiers surged forth, continuing to ravage the field. Yet they no longer rampaged without restraint, but fell back into the cycle of skirmishes: small battles every three days, great ones every ten. The intensity lessened, though still fiercer than before — but no longer with the immediate threat of annihilation or direct invasion of the Eternal World.
Even so, no one dared to relax.
The Two Realms battlefield filled with strong cultivators from all races, each taking command of a war city. This would be the very front lines of the conflict.
Time passed silently.
Great Yi remained calm, showing no outward movements. Neither did the surrounding realms interfere. Within the Star Network, however, the previously divided inner and outer nets were reconnected, allowing communication once more, though Great Yi's internal matters remained carefully veiled from outsiders.
At that moment, a proclamation appeared on the Star Network, spreading swiftly:
Proclamation of the Great Yi Immortal Court to the Human Race across the Eternal World:
Great Yi shall open realm gates to all domains. Any human willing to join Great Yi may pass through the gates and become citizens of Great Yi. No race or force may obstruct this. Any who do shall be considered enemies of the Great Yi Immortal Court.
It was short, but its weight was immense.
Within the Eternal World, across countless domains, the decree caused an uproar.
For many, Great Yi was the only true sanctuary left in this age of ceaseless demonic calamity. With the merging of the Two Realms battlefield, a suffocating pressure hung over all creation.
The powerful prepared for war, but the common people were left in confusion and fear. For them, survival was near hopeless; they would be the first to perish once battle began, with odds of survival no greater than one in a million. When war erupted, there would be no safe place, no refuge from the fires of destruction.
And now, Great Yi had issued its summons.
It did not explicitly say "refuge," but all understood its meaning.
For countless humans, the news was like a divine gift.
"Youth rushed home, crying out in excitement:**'Father! Mother! Hurry, gather everyone! The Star Net says Great Yi has issued a decree — we can all pass through the realm gates and become citizens of Great Yi! There are no restrictions, no conditions. So long as we are human, we may step through the gates and become Yi people. Once inside, we will have status, dignity, and benefits beyond our dreams!'"
As he shouted, he began hastily packing.
For those who lived at the bottom, the choice was obvious. Every day, they lived in fear of demons breaking in and devouring their families. Now, Great Yi had extended its hand. They had heard through the Star Net that within Great Yi, the demonic calamity barely touched them. There was food aplenty, meat to eat freely, cultivation resources, the chance to grow strong, to become true celestial citizens, respected and dignified.
How could such temptation be resisted?
"Go to Great Yi. Here, when war begins, this place will become a death trap. Only Great Yi has the strength to defend its borders. Since its founding, no one has breached the Iron-Blood Great Wall. Once inside, we'll be safe."
"Great Yi's strength is terrifying. Even if tens of elite legions were lost, who dares say those were all they had? Who knows how many hidden armies lie within? And besides, Yi Xianhuang himself — the Emperor who dared fight Eternal Night's strongest. With him, we will be safe."
Even great human clans began preparing migrations, though few moved entirely. Wise families knew better than to put all their eggs in one basket. They would always keep backups, bloodlines preserved in various places, to ensure survival and the chance of resurgence.
But moving into Great Yi was both risk management and an alternative form of refuge.
Compared to anywhere else, Great Yi's chance of survival was undeniably higher.
This was its potential.
Most crucial of all was Yi Tianxing's displayed might — proof of the foundation behind it all.
In this epoch, only strength could guarantee survival.
Now, who among the Saints dared oppose Great Yi? Even half-step Overlords — beings beyond Saints — could not suppress Yi Tianxing.
In such chaos, Great Yi had become a holy land.
Soon, across the Eternal World, countless human families stepped into realm gates, carrying their children and belongings toward Great Yi. Neither other races nor most human powers dared obstruct. Apart from the greatest dynasties, many other human dynasties saw their citizens migrating, yet none moved to stop them.
"Let them go," one human ruler murmured with emotion. "Perhaps, one day, even we will need Great Yi to survive. Giving them leeway now may leave us a path of retreat later. The storm is coming… Who knows how long we can still endure? The changes are too fast."
Thus, years slipped quietly by.
More than a decade of rare peace.
But for Eternal Night and the Eternal, it was only the calm before the storm. A decade, in the face of a war to decide the fate of two realms, was pitifully short. Far too little.
Then one day —
All living beings in the Eternal World felt it: an oppressive weight pressing into their very bloodlines. Even those sleeping awoke in fright, rushing outside to stare at the void.
What they saw left them stunned, mouths agape in horror.
Where the heavens should have been studded with stars, a massive shadow loomed, blotting out the sky.
Boom!
The entire starry sky trembled. Countless stars suddenly blazed with brilliant light. Some were shaken from their orbits by a mysterious force, turning into meteors that streaked down like rain across the Eternal World's myriad domains.